I would guess around 350lbs. Yes i could absolutely feel it in acceleration, lean and wind. Prior to this addition i added a Helllwig sway bar and Supersprings to the rear which partially offset the effects. Also the van is built on a Promaster chassis which is wide and front wheel drive so it has a lower center of gravity the the Sprinters or Ford Transit. - Just saying the the higher the center of gravity to more impact you will feel to adding weight to the top.
Flexible Panels hit Prime Time?
- Thread starter svetz
- Start date
1) The sun is self regulating and getting spikes above vmax just doesn't happen. So what are you protecting from?
2) The BMS should be the center of the system making the final decision on charge and discharge for battery safety as it is the only thing that knows the full status of the battery. If the external MPTT is deciding this can be a problem as you can have a cell high voltage situation that the BMS is aware of; but the MPPT only sees pack voltage and still assumes safe to charge. You need something controlled by the BMS to prevent this - either the MPPT has an input (canbus or remote enable) or you need to use a contactor of some type. Same for discharge.
3) DSSR prevents this. You say it replaces the controller which is right, but its brain is the BMS to tell it when to allow and disallow solar charge. This simplicity is what gets you >99% efficiency downstream of the panels. If you consider that the PV panels themselves are ~21% efficient it is the weakest link - so anything you can do to capture the maximum of this inefficient PV cycle is a huge system win. 21% panel * 80% MPPT = 16% overall efficiency. 21% * 99.7% DSSR is 20%. That matters unless you have a massive solar array and based in Texas
Yes, the DSSR20 is a substitute for a controller. It is effectively a relay and a diode, and that means it is much cheaper, and simpler. That diode solves your #3 concern. What regulation are you talking about in #1? What coordination?
I don't see the point of #2. It makes no sense to me to effectively eliminate the functionality of the one device that has the information about the voltage of each cell. The controller is needed because you aren't taking advantage of the information that the BMS has, or the BMS is defined as a backstop because you have the controller.
If someone made a cheaper simpler controller that only provided the power point tracking, was very efficient (no heat sinks), with no user interface and no settings, I might be tempted so that I would have a larger choice of panels and less concern about panel degradation. However, nothing stops me from putting one in and seeing if that string provides more power in the future.
KrazyK9Lady
New Member
Curious to know what you ended up getting. I'm trying to work out the same thing, adding cigs panels to the top of my Jeep and teardrop camper. Have any luck finding some good ones?
Hey Will, how's that Rich Solar 80w CIGS holding up in our spring heat, any loss in output yet?
The battery is always full, so I am unsure. It works perfect so far. I need to take it down and hook it up to my new solar panel tester to see what max power output is right now. It's cooking in the sun (open circuit) on the daily, so I will test it against a brand-new cigs at the end of summer. That will be fun.
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What about adding a "smart" shunt... a smart shunt (+ a capable simple/cheap controller) might work well based on what you mentioned(?)
Tnx for the update, please let us know , good or bad, about the results. I'm getting ready to purchase a few for my camper, but I am waiting for them to release the 160w. I want to analyze the specs of both the 80w and 160w to determine my best setup due to my limited mounting space.
Edited for typos.
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Also talk to the China suppliers.... they will make custom sizes/shapes based on template you provide. So you can get a single panel that covers the entire camper roof with all cutouts for fans, antenna, AC, etc in place. Just put the panel down and connect it. This way you get maximum power possible on that roof size with the CIGS efficiency.
They charge about $2 a watt for this.... Still way cheaper then the marine flexible panels that go for $5 to $10 for standard sizes and $20 and up for custom.
Assuming reliably and longevity is decent.
I'm looking forward to those tests myself. Thanks for doing stuff like this.
One tip in the meantime if one is using rigid panels mounted more or less horizontal, is to angle them at least a *little bit*, and put the junction box at the bottom of the angle. That way, when heat rises off the back, it won't be rolling upwards and cooking the insides of the junction box.
Well, at least not as bad.
I've even drilled like 5 or 6 ventilation holes in the up-ended side of the panel to help heat escape quicker, rather than gather up near the panel edge.. hackish, but did all I could.
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Thanks for the info but my need doesn't warrant that. I only have space for 6-7 of the 80w or probably only 3-4 of the 160w. Any more panels will have to be ground deployed for me and for that I'll go glass.
TwilightZone
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2021
- Messages
- 77
I bought 6 Hanergy/global solar FG-2Btn-100, 100w cigs panels. I plan to mount them on my 5th wheel. I bought them off ebay for about $0.60/w. My only concerns are longevity, which goes to mounting. And heat transfer, which also goes to mounting. They're intended for direct bonding, but that scares me more than a bit..
Blue-Flower
New Member
Hi TwillightZone,
Can you write something about the quality of those cigs panels from Hanergy. Do they produce the right amount of energy. What about foldability? Will they break down if handled repeating fold/unfold? What about micro cracks/tears etc?
Thanks
Can you write something about the quality of those cigs panels from Hanergy. Do they produce the right amount of energy. What about foldability? Will they break down if handled repeating fold/unfold? What about micro cracks/tears etc?
Thanks
TwilightZone
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2021
- Messages
- 77
I haven't installed them yet. When I got them I laid one in the yard and did metered about 24v iirc. They are supposed to be able to wrap around a 20" diameter tube, and I'm certain that they will because the seller rolled and taped them considerably tighter than that. They are stiff, and folding is definitely out of the question. They don't appear like they would tolerate repeatedly being rolled or unrolled. I'll have more info as it progresses..
Hi folks, it looks like these 100W Renogy flexible panels with the 5yr warranty that this thread was started for, I think are actually made by a company called 'Sunman' ? (I read a few times that Renogy are a re-branding company)
Sunman specialise & pioneered lightweight glassless PV panels & have some backing & test approval for grid connection/lifespan from the Australian Renewables agency, where they have solarised buildings with weaker roof structures like the Sydney Maritime Museum.
Another example here : https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/04/03/sunman-brings-glass-free-pv-modules-to-european-market/
If you check the specs of the Renogy, it's identical to the Sunman 100w apart from they say the module efficiency is 15% (Vs 21% Renogy .... Ha ha)
There are a few install YouTube's available too, where they glue the panels down.
They look an impressive lightweight alternative van roof option!?
Has Will Prowse or anyone long-term tested these flexible panels yet to confirm they are better than old tech ones?
I'm interested in your replies!
Sunman specialise & pioneered lightweight glassless PV panels & have some backing & test approval for grid connection/lifespan from the Australian Renewables agency, where they have solarised buildings with weaker roof structures like the Sydney Maritime Museum.
Another example here : https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/04/03/sunman-brings-glass-free-pv-modules-to-european-market/
If you check the specs of the Renogy, it's identical to the Sunman 100w apart from they say the module efficiency is 15% (Vs 21% Renogy .... Ha ha)
There are a few install YouTube's available too, where they glue the panels down.
They look an impressive lightweight alternative van roof option!?
Has Will Prowse or anyone long-term tested these flexible panels yet to confirm they are better than old tech ones?
I'm interested in your replies!
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svetz
Works in theory! Practice? That's something else
I don't know that Will has tested the panels with the 25 year/80% power output warranty. The Renogy specs say 14.9% eff, so they might be the same. Last I recall regarding flex panels was where Will had tested some CIGs panels.
I would really like to fo to flexible panels (I have a class B with 1500watts Sunpower 21% efficient rigid panels now). From what i have read even the new flexible panels are still not real efficient and heat impacts them pretty severely. Also when you compare getting the rigid used at Santan Solar vs new flexible its just an enormous cost difference.
